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SQUAMATA LIZARDS
AMEIVULA ABAETENSIS. DRINKING BEHAVIOR. Many rep-
tiles have morphological adaptations (Sherbrooke et al. 2007.
Zoomorphology 126:89102) and behavioral strategies (Al-Sado-
onet al. 1999. Saudi J. Biol. Sci. 6:91101) for the acquisition of
water in the environment, with documented cases of convergent
adaptations for species in arid environments (Comanns el al.
2011. Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2:204214). Ameivula abaetensis
is a diurnal lizard species, endemic to the sand dune habitats
(restinga) along the Brazilian coastline. The geographic distri-
bution of the species extends from the north coastline of Bahia
State in Salvador Municipality, to Santo Amaro de Brotas Munici-
pality in Sergipe State (Dias et al. 2002. Copeia 2002:10701077).
Previous research by Santa-Rosa et al. (2012. Bol. Mus. Biol. Me-
llo Leito 29:53-63) suggested that the ingestion of Byrsonima
microphyla fruits by A. abaetensis may be an important source of
water in restinga habitat during the dry season. This note reports
drinking behavior in A. abaetensis.
Two independent groups of A. abaetensis were kept in cap-
tivity during the period of 28 February to 25 April 2009 (N = 8),
and 20 to 27 October 2012 (N = 6). The specimens were collected
during field activities, in the sand dunes habitat in Restinga do
Abaet, Salvador, Bahia (12.9283S, 38.3358W; datum WGS84),
and they were kept in captivity for behavioral observations (li-
cense n
o
31047-1/SISBIO). The climatic and structural condi-
tions of captivity (terrarium with dimensions 100 100 100 cm)
were very similar to those found in the natural microhabitat in-
habited by the species (Dias and Rocha 2004. J. Herpetol. 38:586
588; Dias et al. 2005. J. Herpetol. 15:133137; Dias and Rocha
2007. Braz. J. Biol. 67:4146), but the specimens were kept shel-
tered from direct sunlight. For the first group, we provided fruit
(B. microphyla) and water for sustenance in shallow containers.
For the second group, we provided small beetles and water. For
HERPETOCULTURE NOTES
Herpetological Review 44(3), 2013
HERPETOCULTURE 453
both conditions, during ad libitum observations, we recorded
the drinking behavior at 1300 h on 20 April 2009 and 1000 h on
25 October 2012 using an SLR camera. In both treatments (with
and without the availability of fruit), it was possible to verify the
drinking behavior. The behavior consisted of approaching the
water source, followed by the animal lowering its head and using
its tongue to collect water. Once the water was obtained, the ani-
mal raised its head, keeping it perpendicular to the soil surface
for up to five seconds. Further, the animals simultaneously kept
their front limbs flexed, such that the anterior ventral surface of
the body was not in contact with the ground.
Although there are no published data concerning ingestion
of water in natural habitat for A. abaetensis, these observations
suggest that this behavior can be common when water is avail-
able in a xeric ecosystem, despite water availability within the
diet (e.g., B. microphyla). The opportunistic behavior of drinking
water has been described in other species of heliophilous lizards
(Ribeiro and Freire 2009. Herpetol. Rev. 40:228229) and it can be
considered a convergent behavioral adaptation for lizards occur-
ring in habitat with low water availability.
IGOR RIOS DO ROSRIO, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador,
Bahia, Brazil (e-mail: rosario.igor@hotmail.com); VITOR GOMES SANTA-
ROSA, Centro Universitrio Jorge Amado, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (e-mail:
v.santa-rosa@hotmail.com); LUIZ EDUARDO DE OLIVEIRA GOMES,
Ncleo Integrado de Estudos em Zoologia, Instituto de Cincias Biolgi-
cas, Universidade Catlica do Salvador, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (e-mail:
Luiz.e.o.gomes@gmail.COM); ANDERSON RAIMUNDO PINHEIRO DOS
SANTOS, Universidade Catlica do Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (e-mail: ander-
sondidio2@hotmail.com); DIEGO DIAS BUGARIN, Universidade Catlica
do Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (e-mail: trunckdaga@gmail.com); EDUARDO
JOS DOS REIS DIAS, Laboratrio de Biologia e Ecologia de Vertebrados,
Departamento de Biocincias, Campus Alberto de Carvalho, Universidade
Federal de Sergipe, Itabaiana, Sergipe, Brazil (e-mail: ejrdias@hotmail.com).
PHRYNOSOMA ASIO (Giant Horned Lizard). DRINKING BE-
HAVIOR. Stereotypical behaviors surrounding water intake in
the genus Phrynosoma have been well reported (Mayhew and
Wright 1971; Peterson 1998; Sherbrooke 1990). Desert lizards
like Phrynosoma rarely have access to bodies of water and are
adapted to take little or no water for long periods of time (Mey-
er 1966). Herein we report an unknown and unusual water in-
gestion method in P. asio, a horned lizard widely distributed in
southwest Mexico (Reeve 1952). On 30 April 2012 we observed a
captive female P. asio (95 mm SVL) dipping her head, neck, and
forelimbs into the water trough of her terrarium while making
light and leisurely sucking motions with her throat (Fig. 1). We
also recorded the behavioral display time, having a duration of
7 minutes and a repeat of the same behavior the next day with a
duration of 5 minutes. The knowledge of this horned lizards eco-
logical and ethological aspects are relatively little documented
(Pianka and Parker 1975). We thank Oscar Avila Morales, Jona-
than Vazquez Sanchez, and Jose Antonio Rosas by supporting us
in the field and Tania Raya Garcia for support in caring for the
specimen in captivity.
ERNESTO RAYA GARCA Instituto de Capacitacin y Educacin Pro-
fesional, Independencia 19, Centro, Uruapan, 60000 Michoacn, Mxico
(e-mail: tuataraya@hotmail.com); LUIS FERNANDO MARTNEZ GARCA
(e-mail: biopotenti@hotmail.com)
SQUAMATA SNAKES
CROTALUS OREGANUS OREGANUS (Northern Pacific Rattle-
snake). LONGEVITY. At a local non-profit education center
in Mather, California, USA, we believe we have one of the old-
est captive rattlesnakes on record. During the spring of 1982, a
small juvenile male Crotalus oreganus oreganus was collected
in Auburn, California, USA, by a student attending Placer High
School. It was presented to Placer High biology teacher, Doug-
las Stryker, who kept the specimen as an educational classroom
pet. The snake was kept in the classroom for 31 years. Recently
Mr. Stryker retired, and in November 2012 the snake was given
to a local non-profit, Sacramento Splash, and now resides in the
Splash Education Center.
Crotalus oreganus are typically born in the fall, but do not
emerge until the following spring (Diller and Wallace 1984). As
this specimen of C. o. oreganus was collected as a small juvenile
in the spring, it is believed to have been born in the fall of 1981.
This makes this C. o. oreganus over 31 years old at the time of
submission (April 2013). We believe this is the oldest C. orega-
nus on record and among the oldest Crotalus that have been
recorded.
The average lifespan for C. oreganus in the wild is approxi-
mately 20 years (Fitch 1949). A captive C. o. oreganus that was
recorded at 22 years, 7 months is reported by Slavens (http://
www.pondturtle.com/lsnaked.html#Crotalus). Still, no records
document an individual C. o. oreganus older, or even close to the
age of the snake reported herein.
IAN EVANS and LU-ANNE SPENCER-HARTLE, Sacramento Splash,
Mather, California 95655, USA (e-mail: Luanne@sacsplash.org).
MASTICOPHIS MENTOVARIUS (Neotropical Whipsnake). RE-
PRODUCTION. Masticophis mentovarius is a neotropical colu-
brid that ranges from northern Mexico to northern South Amer-
ica (Lemos-Espinal and Smith 2007. Amphibians and Reptiles
of the State of Chihuahua, Mexico. CONABIO-UNAM. 178 pp.).
The reproductive mode is oviparous and, at least in a population
in Veracruz, Mexico, wild females are gravid from April to May
(Prez-Higareda et al. 2007. Serpientes de la Regin de los Tuxt-
las, Veracruz, Mxico. UNAM. 189 pp.). Eggs have been reported
to be laid inside abandoned burrows or cracks in the ground
(Vzquez and Quintero 2005. Anfibios y Reptiles de Aguascali-
entes. CIEMA-CONABIO. 197 pp.). In populations studied, the
eggs are white and are laid in clutches of 1720, have a granular
surface, are not adhesive to one other, and measure 4664 mm
FIG. 1 Adult Female Phrynosoma asio exhibiting their water intake
behavior.
Herpetological Review 44(3), 2013
454 HERPETOCULTURE
in length, 2636 mm in diameter (Lemos-Espinal and Smith, op.
cit.).
The herpetology laboratory at Facultad de Estudios Superi-
ores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, sup-
ports a diverse live collection of reptiles and amphibians. The
majority of them are Mexican species. The collection includes
Masticophis spp., including two individuals of M. mentovarius.
Here we report reproductive information about this species,
based on our observations in recent years, including timing of
copulation events, clutch production, hatchings, and egg sizes.
Between 1991 and 2000, four copulation events were record-
ed, two during February and two during March. Four clutches
have been laid, two in April and two in July (9, 7 and 2, 5 eggs
respectively). Two clutches have hatched during June (4 and 5
hatchlings respectively); on this last clutch, the eggs (N = 5) had
a mean mass of 5.14 g, mean length of 42.8 mm, and mean width
of 16.4 mm.
During 2008 and 2009 we recorded two additional reproduc-
tive events. In April 2008, in an exhibition enclosure (165 165
65 cm), copulation was observed; temperature was 2830C and
relative humidity (RH) was 5070%. The male (1330 mm SVL)
came from the state of Morelos and the female (1180 mm SVL)
was from the state of Guerrero, Mexico. On 7 July 2008, the fe-
male laid a clutch of 11 eggs, of which six were judged to be in
good condition. Those eggs were incubated at 2830C and a RH
of 5070%. The mean weight of the eggs was 11.30 g. Two hatch-
lings were found on 13 and 14 August (mean mass 7.73 g, mean
SVL 221.1 mm). On 19 August the rest of the eggs were discov-
ered in poor condition and four snakes were found dead inside
the eggs (mean mass 5.74 g, mean SVL 194.5 mm).
The second observation was on 13 February 2009. The same
pair of M. mentovarius produced a clutch of nine eggs (mean
mass 13.83 g, mean length 49.9 mm, and mean width 21.4 mm).
The eggs were infertile.
BEATRIZ RUBIO-MORALES (e-mail: betyrm@unam.mx), SANDRA
FABIOLA ARIAS-BALDERAS, ALFONSO HERNNDEZ-ROS, FELIPE
CORREA-SNCHEZ, and EDUARDO CID-MNDEZ, Laboratorio de Her-
petologa, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional
Autnoma de Mxico, 54090, Mxico.

THAMNOPHIS RADIX (Plains Gartersnake). REPRODUCTION
/ LITTER SIZE. Brood (litter) sizes for Thamnophis radix are
well documented, and are known to vary by geography, size (and
age), and prey availability (Engeman et al. 2002. Herpetol. Rev.
33:59; Fitch 1985. Misc. Publ. Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. 76:1
76; Stanford and King 2004. Copeia 2004:465478). Blackburn
and Stewart (2011. In Aldridge and Sever [eds.], Reproductive Bi-
ology and Phylogeny of Snakes, pp. 119181. Science Publishers,
Enfield, New Hampshire) report the largest known litter size for
T. radix to be 92.
During the fall of 2011, MZ collected a large adult female T.
radix along a busy highway in Edmunds Co., South Dakota, USA.
The female was kept in an enclosure with an adult male T. radix
and both were hibernated during the winter. The pair was kept
in the enclosure until early August 2012 at which time the male
was moved into a separate enclosure in anticipation of the fe-
male giving birth. Starting on the evening of 9 August 2012, the
female gave birth to one unfertilized ovum, six stillborn, one
malformed, and 90 seemingly healthy offspring (Fig. 1). Three of
the stillborn and the single live malformed offspring displayed
bicephaly. The production of 97 offspring represents the largest
brood for T. radix documented to date.
We thank Erica P. Hoaglund and John J. Moriarty for review-
ing this note.
CHRISTOPHER E. SMITH, Wildlife Research & Consulting Services,
LLC. P.O. Box 270741, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55127, USA (e-mail: Christo-
pher.Smith@WildlifeRCS.com); MYRON B. ZIMMER, P.O. Box 100, Bowdle,
South Dakota 57428, USA (e-mail: timewinter@gmail.com).
FIG. 1. All 90 of the seemingly healthy offspring produced by a large
Thamnophis radix collected in Edmunds Co., South Dakota.